Indian Opposition Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Modi government over America’s fatal strike on an Iranian vessel, IRIS Dena. The strike occurred as it was sailing through the Indian Ocean.
Kharge accused Modi of a “reckless abdication” of India’s national interests following. He emphasised that the ship was a returning guest from India’s International Fleet Review 2026 and was unarmed. Initially, there was no response from prime minister Modi.
Modi Govt’s reckless abdication of India’s strategic & national interests is there for all to see.
An Iranian ship, a guest of India was returning, unarmed from the International Fleet Review 2026, hosted by us, and was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
No…
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) March 5, 2026
Only after opposition started mounting, did the government respond, and even then, it was meagre.The Foreign Secretary was the only official pictured signing the Condolence Book at the Iranian Embassy in a formal gesture of respect.
As Maktoob Media reported:
India’s Foreign Secretary signs condolence book for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has signed the condolence book for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the Embassy in Delhi, amidst growing criticism against the Modi government’s silence on the US-Israel attack on Iran.
India’s Foreign Secretary signs condolence book for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has signed the condolence book for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the Embassy in Delhi, amidst growing criticism against the Modi government’s… pic.twitter.com/8u29HvIMwO
— Maktoob (@MaktoobMedia) March 5, 2026
Meanwhile, American and Trump-aligned media outlets have been celebrating the cowardly attack, thumping their chests in glee.
Hegseth, who has said the war is being fought for Jesus, was gloating to reporters. In fact, he was admitting that they had:
sunk an Iranian war ship that thought it was safe in international waters.
Instead it was sunk by a torpedo, a quiet death – the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II. Like in that war, back when we were still the war department, we are fighting to win.
He said the ship was:
ineffective, decimated, destroyed…pick your adjective, it is no more.
Murder of Indian guests and Modi’s silence
Professor Priyamvada Gopal questioned India’s legal standing in the face of such an attack, given Modi’s claim that India is the ‘guardian of the Indian Ocean.’
What about the Indian hosts of the Iranian ship on whose doorstep this happened? The self-proclaimed ‘guardian of the Indian Ocean’? Now a weak US vassal state. What terrible fall. https://t.co/RJOxDqBiNC
— Priyamvada Gopal © (@PriyamvadaGopal) March 5, 2026
Esha Krishnaswamy, the host of Historic.ly podcast, said that India wasn’t sovereign, insinuating that it had capitulated to the US and Israel.
Today, India showed that it isn’t an actual Sovereign country
— Esha K (@eshaLegal) March 5, 2026
Anand Mangnale, an Indian journalist said that the absence of any statement from the Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, Navy, or PM signified a failure in diplomatic and defence policy.
This is the same vessel that the US torpedoed. Off the coast of India. It was a GUEST of India visiting for a Naval exercise.
What did @Jaishankar @rajnathsingh @indiannavy & @narendramodi have to say about it?
NOTHING. SILENCE.
Never has Indian Foreign & Defence policy been… https://t.co/WVZJrO4obR— Anand Mangnale (@FightAnand) March 5, 2026
Journalist Barkha Dutt shared satellite footage of IRIS Dena participating in multilateral naval exercises held in India’s eastern port city of Visakhapatnamised on 19 February 2026. She expressed horror at the fact that those onboard had likely all been killed.
To watch this is chilling. To think that most of these sailors are now likely dead, killed by a US strike on a ship off the coast of Sri Lanka, who were part of naval exerises reviewed by President Murmu a fornight ago. The war reaches our backyard. https://t.co/sK5fgjGpqY
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) March 4, 2026
Some pointed out that even Modi’s loyal supporters were turning on him.
Commenting on this, SOAS-based academic Subir Sinha wrote:
First @Zakka_Jacob. Then Kanwal and the other Sibal. And now @ShivAroor, who used to abuse and block people for people criticising his fawning coverage of Modi’s bombastic claims on security and foreign policy! The worms are turning! https://t.co/TcfidC9pJl
— Subir Sinha (@PoMoGandhi) March 5, 2026
So, when is Modi’s statement coming? Maybe never or far too late. The damage is done. However, we can clearly see where his loyalties lie. They are with the US and Israel, not India.
Featured image via the Canary
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